Up to 130 killed in suspected coalition raid on Yemen wedding

Smoke billows from an arms depot in the Yemeni

Geneva - Arab Today

A suspected Saudi-led air strike on a Yemeni wedding reportedly may have killed as many as 130 civilians, including many women and children, the United Nations said Tuesday.

"If the numbers are as high as suggested, this may be the single deadliest incident since the start of the conflict," UN rights agency spokesman Rupert Colville told reporters.

The Saudi-led Arab coalition, which launched an air war on the Huthi rebels in late March in support of embattled President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, were behind the attack on the wedding hall in Mokha, residents said.

"The high number of civilian casualties being caused by air strikes was starkly underlined by reports that yesterday a wedding party in Wahijah, in Taizz Governorate, was hit by a coalition air strike reportedly, killing as many as 130 civilians, including a large number of women and children, and injuring many others," Colville said.

"Our staff in Yemen are currently seeking to confirm these reports, including precise details on casualties."

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the air strike.

"Any intentional attack against civilians is considered a serious violation of international humanitarian law," Ban said in a statement.

Even before the tragic strike on the wedding party, Colville lamented that more civilians were being killed in the fighting in Yemen amid "an increasing number of air strikes targeting bridges and highways."

According to fresh UN numbers, 151 civilians were killed, including 26 children and 10 women in the fighting in Yemen between September 11 and 24.

A total of 2,355 civilians have meanwhile been killed in Yemen's conflict since late March, and another 4,862 injured, Colville said.

Ban urged all rival sides in Yemen "to immediately cease all military activities and resolve all differences through peaceful negotiations."